Saturday, June 17, 2017

Bold Patten

The Telegraph has an interview with former BBC Chairman Lord Patten, ahead of the publication of his latest volume of memoirs.

Only seven of the book’s 298 pages are devoted to his time with Auntie: “It wasn’t the happiest period of my life. The people who told me the job was impossible were probably right.”

The Telegraph asked for his current thoughts on BBC survival.

“Given the squeeze on funding, it can’t afford to go on doing all the things it’s doing at the moment, while spreading the marg more thinly. The identity of BBC Two and BBC Four, for instance, is increasingly confused. BBC Four – which, like a lot of middle-class people, I watch more than almost any other channel – is financed on a shoestring.”

The Telegraph interprets this as urging the merger of the two as a cost saving. Clearly no fan of old Top of The Pops....